Inaugural Meeting Held: 12th November 2024
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Location: W2 Palace of Westminster
On Tuesday 12th November, the Waterways All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) hosted its inaugural meeting in parliament.
The meeting was an opportunity for parliamentarians to meet the APPG’s secretariat (Inland Waterways Association) and elect the APPG’s officers.
The Waterways APPG has appointed Bill Esterson, MP, as its new Chair. Mr Esterson proposed officers, with existing rules meaning that one must be from the government party or parties, and at least one from the main opposition party. A show of hands supported the election of Wendy Morton as vice-chair, and Uma Kumaran along with Lord German as co-chairs.
Among the vice chairs and officers of the group are a number of newly elected MPs as well as some long-standing waterway supporters.
Bill Esterson, APPG chair, said:
It is not just boaters who make use of our waterways. Canals and rivers are a valuable resource for leisure, active travel, industry, energy, and even in the case of the Leeds to Liverpool Canal as a source for water borne district heating. The tranquillity of time spent by the water, along with the wildlife that thrives around clean waterways, is truly something to be cherished and enhanced. All these interests can coexist, and I look forward to chairing this influential All-Party Group and highlighting, both in Parliament and beyond, the importance of waterways to our nation’s economy and environment.
Charlie Norman, Director of Campaigns and Public Affairs from IWA, said:
IWA warmly welcomes Mr Esterson’s appointment as Chair of the APPGW. It’s clear that he really grasps the importance, value, and relevance of the UK’s inland waterways and the need for adequate funding. We look forward to working both with him and an almost entirely new slate of members over the course of this parliament.
